1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a shoe, more particularly to a shoe having an upper made of a waterproof breathable laminate.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional waterproof shoes are generally made by sewing a liner made of a waterproof breathable material and an additional inner liner to an upper. In such shoes, the upper and the two liners are separate pieces which are assembled together through a sewing process. The resultant assembly is then subjected to waterproof treatment in order to ensure water-tightness at the seams of the assembly. A last is then put inside the inner liner in order to assemble an inner sole to the upper and the two liners through a lasting process or a Strobel stitching process and to further attach an outsole thereto. Examples of such waterproof shoes are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,599,810, 5,426,869, 5,628,127, 5,746,012, 5,918,382, and 5,930,917.
The aforesaid methods of making shoes are laborious and time-consuming. In addition, since the waterproof breathable liner is typically formed into a sock-like structure, as shown in FIG. 1, a rather large amount of the waterproof breathable material is needed to make such a liner. Furthermore, as the seams resulting from the sewing of the waterproof breathable material into the sock-like structure have to be sealed or taped for watertightness, the production cost thereof is increased.
The prior art also suggests a waterproof breathable liner which has a sock-like configuration but is open at a bottom thereof. The open bottom end of such a liner is usually connected to an inner sole by a cementing process. FIG. 2 shows a waterproof shoe 1 having a waterproof breathable liner 2 with an open bottom cemented to an inner sole 3 of the shoe. To ensure waterproofness and durability, the material of the liner 2 at the bottom end thereof extends a considerable length to the inner side of the inner sole 3 and is then folded to form a hollow region which is then filled with a waterproof material. Although the amount of the waterproof breathable material used in this liner is reduced as compared to the sock-like liner, the reduction in the material used therein is limited.
Practically, for effective waterproofness, a waterproof shoe is made in such a manner that it has a midsole or outsole to surround the bottom and the lateral side of the toe portion of the wearer's foot. Thus, ventilation of the shoe is usually insufficient for the toe portion of the foot, even if the shoe is provided with a waterproof breathable material. In view of this, it is apparent that, despite use of the waterproof breathable liner, the prior art shown in FIG. 2 would be unable to ventilate the toe part of the shoe and that the waterproof breathable material provided at the toe part of the shoe has been extravagantly used.